The first beta community meeting in Syracuse

What kind of space do artists and musicians want in the city of Syracuse? The simplest way to find out is to ask them, which is what developer Rick Destito formally began doing Tuesday night last week on the first floor of his 5-story, 65,000 s.f. warehouse (pictured), which Rick (brown shirt, hand in motion) is committed to transforming into an artist/musician live-work community (see rendering here).

Here are a few key discussion points from the beta community meeting:

The status of the building: There are 17 artist studios, 3 of which are available (175, 130, and 250 s.f. at $1/sf/mo. that take up a fraction of the of the building, the rest of which is raw unused space, as you can see.

Naming the building: Based on discussion at the project’s beta community site, Rick announced it would be called The Gear Factory, with website to come at www.gearfactorysyr.com, being designed by building member, Michael Heagerty.

Compensation for participation: The group began exploring the idea of profit-sharing based on individual sweat equity, initiated by Rick.

Building program: The group discussed what amenities the building would offer in order to ensure their involvement as either tenants, buyers or patrons. Community rooms, classrooms, musician practice rooms and studios, rooftop garden, rooftop cafe, first floor restaurant/brewery, Big Wheel space (left image), studio-fronting residences, and retail-fronting studios were brought up.

The vision: The members discussed on what the building will be known for – a reputed art center, collaboration, community. They also brainstormed on a slogan for the building, which is continuing online.

Manifesto/charter/declaration: The group began defining the principles the building will stand for via a document that Rick will use to maintain the building community’s integrity.